"Come and see King Yan soon."
"When I finally saw His Highness King Yan, I felt like thunder pierced his ears."
"Meet His Highness King Yan!"
"..."
The three of them all knelt down on one knee, kneeling in salute during the march.
"Fourth brother, these are Chen Wen, the commander of Yingzhou's left guard, Xu Li, the commander of the center guard, and Zhu Jian, the commander of the right guard."
Zhu Quan introduced the commanders of Ning Sanwei to King Yan one by one.
"Okay, please get up, everyone."
Zhu Dixu raised his right hand and said with a smile.
His attention was focused on Xu Li, the one in the middle.
He is thirty-three or four years old, with a muscular appearance, a rough black face, and thick beard.
After everyone sat down, the servants and maids served tea and snacks first.
"Fourth brother, please drink some hot tea to warm yourself up first. If you are hungry, bring some snacks. The cooks are still preparing dishes and will serve you later."
"Hmm, I'm a little hungry."
Zhu Di stretched out his big hands like bear paws, carefully picked up a piece of pastry with his carrot-thick fingers, put it into his big mouth, and said vaguely while chewing:
"Seventeenth brother, generals, let's all eat together, please feel free to do so."
He started shouting instead of being the guest.
However, Zhu Di's carefree attitude suddenly brought the two parties closer and avoided a lot of embarrassment.
"His Royal Highness King Yan, Zhu Jian, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Your Highness holds high the banner of Fengtian Jingnan and Qingjun, but there are very few supporters."
"Now I heard that the imperial court sent the God of War Cao Guogong to lead an army of 500,000, divided into five groups to encircle and suppress the capital city of Beiping. I wonder what King Yan has planned?"
Suddenly, the right guard commander Zhu Jian stood up, clasped his fists and saluted, and then asked Zhu Di straight to the point.
He looked about forty-twenty-twenty-three years old, with a black face and leopard eyes, and also a full beard.
Obviously, these words were approved by King Ning in advance.
King Yan suddenly came to Daning City with his troops, and King Ning Zhu Quan urgently summoned the three commanders for discussion.
In the end, it was decided to let Zhu Di alone into the city to meet him and ask for clarification first.
Zhu Di's eyes were as bright as a torch. He glanced at the four people in front of him and said in a deep voice:
"As we all know, Emperor Jianwen was bewitched by treacherous ministers such as Qi Tai and Huang Zhicheng. Soon after he ascended the throne, he couldn't wait to cut down the vassal. He went on a killing spree against my uncles and other vassal kings and acted wantonly."
"Our vassal territory was given by Taizu Emperor Gao during his lifetime. What nephew Jianwen did was a violation of the ancestral precepts. We were forced to raise an army to clear the emperor's side."
"Now the northern Xinjiang area from Yongping to Shanhaiguan is under the control of our Yan army, and we have successfully blocked the invasion of Liaodong King Zhu Zhi."
"This king came to Daning this time because he wanted to join forces with his seventeenth brother and three generals to protect the emperor from Jingnan, so as to ensure that our country, the Ming Dynasty, never changes."
Zhu Di's words were also one of the contents of his discussion with Yao Guangxiao when he left Peiping.
The first is a positive and open invitation. If Zhu Quan and others are willing to work together as brothers, that would be the best.
If the open and sincere invitation fails, the second plan will be adopted, and we will try to capture Daning City internally and externally, and try our best to kill the enemy with as little blood as possible.
If a war is forced, the loss of troops must be minimized.
In fact, King Ning and the others were also paying close attention to the movements of the imperial court and King Yan.
Emperor Jianwen had issued an edict asking King Ning to send troops to flank the Peking capital.
However, Zhu Quan refused to implement it on the grounds that the Mongolian and Yuan forces outside the Great Wall were eyeing him.
In fact, he has turned against his will.
But he didn't want to join King Yan's team now.
The main concern is that the Yan Army is not a match for the Central Army.
Everyone understands that war is not only about military strength, but also about financial resources, food reserves, dispatch of military supplies, etc.
The Jianwen Dynasty could mobilize the whole country to recruit soldiers and transport grain and military supplies.
But Zhu Di was at the end of his rope, sitting on nothing.
The strengths and weaknesses of both sides are clear at a glance.
Therefore, he adopted the strategy of sitting on the mountain and watching the tiger fight.
Just now, before Zhu Di entered the city, Zhu Quan and the three guards commanders were discussing.
My initial opinion is to remain neutral and wait and see.
At least, we can't blatantly raise the flag to rebel at the moment, for fear that if the imperial court wins in the future, the Daning capital will still have room for maneuver.
Therefore, when the Yan army came to Daning City, the four people discussed it and the result was that King Yan was allowed to ride into the city alone to find out the truth before discussing.
When they meet for negotiation later, Zhu Jian takes the lead in asking questions to break the deadlock.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Di was very happy.
His answer did not conceal anything, but stated his purpose directly.
This makes him appear to be aboveboard.
After hearing this, Zhu Jian looked at Prince Ning and smiled slightly.
These are basically in line with their pre-expected plot.
"Your Highness King Yan, His Highness Prince Ning may have some words that may hinder brotherly feelings, and it is probably not easy to say, so I will let the last general speak on my behalf. Please forgive me, King Yan."
"As we all know, our three guards in Yingzhou only have 20,000 troops. It is said that the Yan army's field army plus the troops defending the city and fortress only have 100,000 troops."
"But Li Jinglong has an army of 500,000 troops, well-equipped, and Zhu Zhi of Liaodong also has more than 30,000 elite cavalry."
"If they come to attack from the north and the south, even if Yanning joins forces, they will not be able to resist it."
"What's more, if the three guards of Yingzhou withdraw, Daning Dusi will immediately be occupied by the three guards of Wuliangha and the remaining Tatar tribes of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty."
"In this way, the border of Ming Dynasty is in danger."
When Zhu Jian said this, Zhu Quan lowered his head and remained silent. Xu Li and Chen Wen remained silent.
Obviously, they all agree with Zhu Jian's point of view.
Zhu Di is a very human being, he doesn't show his emotions when he hears words.
"Seventeenth brother and three generals, you don't have to worry too much. My sudden visit to Daning this time is mainly for tactical considerations of avoiding the real and attacking the weak."
"Persuading Daning to join is just a matter of course. Since the seventeenth brother and the generals have concerns, it is also a reality to defend the northern border. I can completely understand it and will never force it."
"It's just the 60,000 troops stationed outside my city. Please help me with the supplies for the past few days, my seventeenth brother."
As soon as Zhu Di said this, Zhu Di, Zhu Xin, Xu Li and Chen Yi all looked at each other in surprise.
I didn’t expect King Yan to be so reasonable.
He neither got angry nor cursed, which was beyond their expectations.
"Fourth brother, I am incompetent and have not been able to help my brother much. Please be considerate."
"As for the food, grass, drinking water and other supplies for the 60,000 brothers of the Yan army outside the city these days, please feel free to worry about it, fourth brother. I will definitely be satisfied."
Zhu Quan stood up and bowed to Zhu Di with clasped fists.
"Thank you very much, Seventeenth Brother."
Zhu Di also stood up and returned the half salute with his hands in hand.
At this point, King Yan clearly presented some of his thoughts to the other party.
The purpose is of course to get the other person to put down their guard and be honest with each other.
After asking and answering questions like this, the tense atmosphere in the room suddenly became much more relaxed.
"Then let's drink and eat first. We can't talk on an empty stomach, right?" Zhu Quan said.
"Haha..." Everyone laughed happily.
"That's fine. Guests can do as they please," Zhu Di said.
He traveled a long distance, even bypassed Songting Pass, and marched for more than ten days to reach Daning. He was hungry every meal on the way, but never had a full meal.
I was already hungry.
